Grain-door.



R. C. LEITCH.

GRAIN DOOR.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 14. I915- Patented App 25, 1916.

2 SHEETSSHEET I.

THE COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH 60.. WASHINGTON. D. c.

R. C. LEITOH.

GRAIN DOOR.

APPLICATION FILED MAY I4, m5.

6 1 9 1 Ru 2 n p A d e t n 6 t a P 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

ml: COLUMBIA vnmosmum co., WASHINGTON, D. c.

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l rnron ROY C. LEITGI-I, OF JETMORE, KANSAS.

GRAIN-DOOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 25, 1916.

Application filed May 14, 1915. Serial No. 28,129.

T 0 all to 720m it may concern Be it known that I, ROY C. Lnrrorr, a citizen of the United States, residing at Jetmore, in the county of Hodgeman and State of Kansas, have invented new and useful Improvements in Grain-Doors, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in grain doors for railway cars and expressly with reference to improvements in means for hanging and for raising and lowering a grain door, the object of the invention being to provide an improved apparatus of this kind which serves to slidably support a grain door so that it may be moved to open or closed position and which also enables the door, when in closed position, to be raised a slight distance from the bottom of the door opening and allow the discharge of the grain under the door.

The invention consists in the construction, combination and arrangement of devices hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view, from the inner side, of a portion of the car provided with a hanging and raising and lowering means for a door constructed in accordance with my invention and showing the door in closed lowered position. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the exterior of the door. Figs. 3 and 4: are detail views.

For the purpose of this specification a portion of the wall of the car is indicated at 1, the floor at 2, the door opening at 3, the door jambs at 1 and a series of spaced bars are indicated at 5 on the near side of the inner casing 6 of the wall and at one side of the.

and so that it may also be moved to one side to uncover the door opening, and in practice the grain door is made of heavy sheet or plate iron and provided on its inner side, near its upper and lower edges and also near its center with horizontally arranged T iron braces 10. On the outer side of the door, are

vertically arranged angle irons 11 which are adapted, when the door is in closed position to bear against the opposing sides of the door jambs 4. The door is provided near its lower sides with an opening 12 and with a vertically movable trap door 13, said opening and said trap door being also preferably made of sheet or plate iron and being mount ed in angle iron guide ways 14 its lower movement being limited by an angle iron sill and its upper movement by an angle iron stop 16.

it track rod 17 is arranged near the level of the upper side of the door opening and at a suitable distance from the wall 1 and has its ends secured in supporting brackets 18 which are provided with braces 19. A carrier 20 is also provided, which in practice is made from a metal plate, provided with downturned ends 21 which has a slide 22 enlarged, in the upper side, at the center, as at 23. The track rod 17 extends through the openings in the downturned ends of the carrier sothat the carrier is slidably mounted, on said track rod and said carrier is also provided with peripherally grooved wheels or rollers 24 that bear to one side of the track rod and the axles of each are also shown as mounted in the carrier and in brackets 25 on the lower side of the carrier. The carrier is provided with a lever 26 which enables the carrier to be turned on the track rod and to be also moved longitudinally thereon. Hanger straps 27 have their lower ends attached to the upper portion of the grain door and their upper ends are bifurcated, and arranged astride the ends of the carrier, and

provided with rollers 28 which operate in the slots 22. By means of the lever 26 the carrier may be turned to raise or lower one side thereof and thereby causes the hanger straps to raise or lower the grain door as desired and thus permit the grain door to be opened or closed. The carrier supports the door in raised position and enables the grain door to be moved longitudinally either to one side or to the point across the door opening. When the grain door is in either opened position or is across the door opening, it may be lowered so as to cause its lower edge to engage the groove or guide rail 7 as will be' understood. When the door is in either full closed or full opened position the rollers 28 will be at the outer ends of the slots 22 but when it is in an intermediate position such rollers will be at the inner ends of said slots, manipulation of the carrier by the lever causing the door by its own gravity and by the inclination of the carrier to move down: wardly and outwardly in said slots or track ways as may be required. The enlargement 23 of the slots22 enables the rollers 28 and hence the door, to be demounted from the carrier. When the door 9 is closed and it is desired to discharge grain or other like material from the car the trap door 13 will be first opened to permit enough material to be discharged through the opening 12 to reduce the pressure on the inner side of the door, the door may then be readily raised a few inches above the bottom ofthe floor by operating the lever in the proper direction, to permit the further discharge of the contents of the car through the door opening 3 and under the door. I

To secure the door when in closed position I provide hooks 29 which are pivotally mounted on the opposing sides of the door jambs, and I provide pivotally mounted keepers 30 to bear on such hooks preventing their casual disengagement from the upper side of the door.

'Having thus described my invention I claim I 1. The combination with a track disposed above the doorway, of an inverted substantially U-shaped carrier mounted upon said track for rocking and sliding movements, the parallel end members of said carrier having alined transverse slots, door hangers suspended from said end members, rollers associated with the upper ends of said hangers and movable within said slots, and a lever connected with said carrier for operating the latter as described.

2. The combination with a track disposed above a doorway, of an inverted substantially U-shaped carrier mounted upon said track for rocking and sliding movements, a bracket secured to the cross piece of said carrier and disposed in spaced relation thereto, a roller journaled between said parts and operatively associated with said track, the parallel end members of said carrier having alined elongated slots, door hangers suspended from said end members, rollers carried by the upper ends of said hangers and movable within said slots, and a lever connected with said carrier for operating the latter as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of. two witnesses.

ROY G. LEITCH.

Witnesses:

I'IARRY J. DAVIS, IVILLIAM R. Pnrrnn.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, I). G. 

